Phil Hewitt

Matthew Goodgame teams up with The Spinettes live in concert to celebrate his life in musical theatre.

They bring their show to Horsham’s Capitol on January 31.

Matthew Goodgame

The Spinettes have performed at numbers 10 and 11 Downing Street, Goodwood Festival and The Shard; they have also sailed the seven seas as guest artists on cruise ships.

“The Spinettes are truly, and I am not exaggerating, a world-class act,” Matthew says – and not just because he is married to one of them.

“I was in Germany for 15 months doing Starlight Express, which was an experience in itself. I came back in June and made the conscious decision with my now wife just to do the short contracts because we were getting married in September.”

He continues: “The Spinettes were set up about five years ago. They started off doing small things, a little social club in Brighton to about 40 people, and within a year they were asked to go on the cruise ships. They also went to Downing Street. They have been doing so, so well. If you think of the Andrews Sisters, they were a huge influence. They love the glamour and the style, and the music itself is timeless.”

“They perform with bands, and they do a lot of corporate events,” Matthew explains. “They do weddings as well, but they are getting so big now they want to cut down on the weddings. I am so pleased for them, and the whole idea of this show is that I get a chance to perform with them.”

He continues: “We are tending to do Sunday dates at the moment, but Sunday is actually a really good day. The music that the Spinettes perform, and I do a lot of Rat Pack stuff, is not specifically aimed towards the older generation, but it is very friendly towards that age, and Sunday is a good day to get families together.

“I myself have been in a number of West End and international shows. I have played Danny Zuko in Grease, toured with the 12 Tenors, recently returned from Germany as Greaseball in Starlight Express and made my debut professional performance as Billy Flynn in Chicago after winning Channel 4’s Musicality Search for a Star.

“I revisit my favourite moments in shows, telling anecdotes and singing some of my all-time favourite classics from Elvis and the Rat Pack and Buble, to name but a few. The Spinettes bring to life the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s with tons of classic glamour, beautiful harmonies and sparkling choreography.”

As for Musicality, Matthew doubts he would be where he is today if it hadn’t been for the show: “I was a primary-school teacher at the time, and I was dancing locally. The owners of the dance school said I should enter. I thought I was at the right moment in my life where I should try. I entered…and I ended up winning!”